


A Tale of Two Princesses

by hedgehogthewriter



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, F/M, Lieutenant Duckling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-18 18:49:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4716680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedgehogthewriter/pseuds/hedgehogthewriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where Princess Emma is the adopted daughter of King David, king of an island kingdom. The king has another daughter, Serena, who fits the role of princess much better than Emma does. Emma's world is turned upside-down when a mysterious man shows up in a boat one day. Sorry, I'm not great at summaries. Told from Emma's POV</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Doing my rounds was always so boring. Nothing ever happened. Why have a guard on patrol of this back side of our island nation if there were never any attacks even from our main port. But I had no say in the matter. I did whatever my sister Serena, our princess, told me to do. I guess I should be thankful King David had taken me in when I was little and wandering the streets alone.

I lost my parents when I was five years old. They were in some boating accident or something, I was never given the details. I ran out of my house before the orphanage could take me, because I had heard of their cruelty to the kids. I ran around the town when I bumped into a tall, strong man, the king. He took me back to his palace and raised me as his own daughter, along with his actual daughter, Serena.

I looked out at the ocean. I'd always wondered what else was out there. I'd been to just about every place on the island-granted that's not that great of a feat because the island isn't that big- but I'd never been anywhere else.

I was terrified of the ocean, of deep water. Ever since my parents had died I had been aware of the horror and terrible power of the ocean. I often had nightmares of drowning in its depths. I always wanted to leave the island and see what was beyond it, but never thought too seriously about it because of my fear. I gazed out longingly at the ocean, at the beauty of the sunset rising over it, at the tiny boat in the distance. Wait, there shouldn't be any boats in the water, we had no expeditions out at the moment and public boating hours ended at sunset.

The boat was getting closer and closer to land every second. My adventurous side wanted to stay there and fight the invaders off myself with my bow and arrows, but my logical half told me to turn around and run to the guard house to warn them of what could be coming.

I took one last longing look out at the ocean before turning around and running back toward the guard house. As I approached the guard house, the bright lights hurt my eyes in the darkening night. The thing that I couldn't detect, though, were voices. The other guards were almost always chatting together as they waited for the patrolling guards who almost never came.

I ran up to the door and peeked my head around the corner. "Hey, guys, there's something you should probably take a look at over by the southern beach," I announced before I noticed something strange. The room was empty. I was surprised for a few seconds before I remembered that King David had invited all the head guards to the palace for a feast. I was one of the few patrol guards who didn't want to go to the feast.

Even though I'd lived in the palace most of my life, I really didn't enjoy all the parties and politics that went on there. And I certainly didn't like living up to the traditional role of a princess: all the dresses and makeup and gossip. I chose to leave that for Serena while I spent my time in the archery range. Whenever there was some ball or party I tried to do my best to escape it in any way that I could.

Anyway, I was unsure of what to do. There were no guards to inform about the incoming boat, and I wouldn't have enough time to run to the palace to tell anyone there. I had only one choice. I'd have to fight off the invaders on my own.

I was just about to grab my bow that was hanging from my back when a hand from behind my back reached around me and covered my mouth. Then I felt the sharp point of a blade against my neck.

"If you scream I slice your neck," a threatening voice whispered in my ear. The voice had a strange, foreign accent that I did not recognize.

The instincts I'd spent years establishing by training with the men in the army kicked in as I elbowed my captor and turned around, grabbing my bow and aiming the arrow at his heart.


	2. Chapter 2

On any normal circumstances, I would've fired my arrow immediately, struck my target, and killed my opponent. But two things stopped me. First of all, I'd never actually killed anyone before. I wasn't sure I even had that sort of evil in me. Secondly, the man wasn't all that much older than me. He couldn't be more than a year over twenty. I was too surprised to see that someone so close to my own age had traveled by boat on their own so far.

Probably sensing that I wasn't going to be able to kill him, he smiled. I really wished he hadn't. His smile was one that would make most girls melt. I tried to tell myself that I was better than that, that I wouldn't just blindly fall for a guy because of his looks like every other girl in the kingdom. I shook my head and cleared all thoughts that I would regret later.

"So, are you going to shoot me, love?" He laughed, knowing he had me beat. I cursed myself for hesitating.

I sighed and raised my hand to comb some of the stray blonde hairs out of my face. "No, I'm not going to kill you."

"So what are you going to do with me?" He asked, leaning in almost uncomfortably close to my face. I held my breath and dared myself to look him in the eye challengingly. He smirked, and I crossed my arms.

"I'm going to take you to the king, and he can do what he wants with you." I took a step away from him and motioned my arms in the direction of the palace.

"And what if I don't want to go see the king?" He crossed his arms to match me.

Now it was my turn to smirk. I prepared an arrow on the string of my bow and playfully pulled it back. "Then I'll have to lead you by force."

He rolled his eyes, probably thinking I wouldn't hurt him, like I hadn't earlier. But I'd come up with a plan. Maybe I didn't have the guts to kill him, but I could shoot him in the arm, so he would be hurting enough and scared enough into going with me, but I wouldn't have to kill him.

"Fine, I'll make this easy on you, since you're just a girl," he started. I got angry at his comment about me being not tough enough because I was only a girl. I'd spent years training with the boys who were going into the army, and it had taken years for me to earn their respect, but by the time I was fifteen, pretty much everyone on the island knew I wasn't really one to mess with. "I'll go quietly," he continued, "if you tell me your name."

I was confused, and I'm sure it showed on my face, because the boy smirked again.

"Why would you want to know my name?" I asked.

He shrugged. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

I hesitated for a moment longer, but I couldn't think of any reason that it would be a problem for him to know my name, so I simply shrugged and answered, "I'm Emma."

He smiled, but softly this time, more sincere than his earlier smirks. "Emma," he whispered. He nodded, then turned on his heels and started walking toward the direction I had previously motioned to, toward the palace.

When we arrived at the palace, I could hear the raucous voices and sounds coming from the ballroom, which I knew to be the feast. I knew it would be improper of me to interrupt the feast just for this, so I decided to take the boy down to the dungeon until I could get King David to deal with him.

I led him down the main hall to the very end and through a small service door that most people never used. Behind the door was only a spiral staircase that led to the dungeon.

We walked all the way down the staircase until we reached the bottom, where there was only a row of cells lit by torches. My friend Neal sat in the stool where he always sat. King David always liked to have one guard down in the dungeon, even if no one was locked up.

"Hey, Emma, what are you doing down here?" He smiled and asked before he noticed the boy I had brought with me.

"I found him on the southern port. He traveled here by boat on his own. I just need you to keep him here until King David is able to deal with him."

Neal frowned. "Did this guy do anything to deserve to be locked up?"

I was a little frustrated that Neal would question me. "He threatened my life! I just need to keep him down here for a little bit. I'll get in trouble if I interrupt the feast."

"Come on, David wouldn't be mad at his own daughter."

"But he would be mad at his adopted daughter," I reminded him. "Especially his adopted daughter who ditched the feast she was supposed to be at." Neal still didn't look like he was going to do let me use one of the cells, so I turned on my puppy dog face and pleaded, "please? For me?"

Neal could never resist my puppy dog face, and after a second or two, he conceded. "Fine. But no one can know about it and you have to get him out before the feast is over."

I smiled and gave him a quick hug. "Thank you!" I felt Neal falter against my hug, but then I pulled away and started running back toward the stairs. "I'll be back in about an hour."

I ran up the stairs, across the hallway, through the main hall, and up another flight of stairs to reach my wing of the castle. Basically there was one portion of the palace where the king and Serena stayed, one for me, and one for guests. Whenever the guest wing was full, they would put some people near the king, but I was always left alone, just how I liked it. I always felt awkward around people, and it was really nice to have my own area of the palace to myself. I mean, don't get me wrong. It's not huge, it's just a small hallway to myself. Anyway, my room wasn't quite as big as Serena's, but it was pretty close, and extremely generous for just a poor orphan girl. I supposed I could still call myself that. Even though King David had sort of adopted me, I never truly felt like I was a part of his family. And in a way, I wasn't really a part of his family. Because I was two months older than Serena, I couldn't be officially adopted because then I would be next in line for the throne, and while King David wanted me as his daughter, he didn't want me as his heir. I certainly never acted like a typical princess and future heir to a throne.

Once in my room I collapsed onto my huge bed. I debated taking a nap, but I knew better. I had to make at least a little bit of an appearance at the feast. If I hadn't captured the boy to bring in to the palace, I probably would've gone home in an hour or so anyway.

I stood up from my bed and walked over to my closet. I took off my leather jacket and hung it up on the hidden rack behind all my dresses. I unlaced my boots and hid them in the back of my closet as well. I grabbed a light purple gown and changed into it. Then I went over to my mirror and tied my side braid into a bun. It looked a little messy, but it was fairly presentable and I really didn't care. I sighed as I looked at my transformed self. I much preferred the leather and boots to dresses, but what choice did I have?

I walked out of my room and quietly entered the ballroom. Luckily, the music was playing loudly, and almost everyone was dancing so they didn't notice me. I mingled a little, acting like the princess people always expected me to be, but I wasn't really getting that into it. I danced for a little while when one nobleman asked me, as was custom.

When I finally had a free moment, I made my way over to the table where King David sat. Serena would normally be sitting there with him, but she was off dancing or something. I walked up to the king and leaned down to talk to him.

"Your Majesty," I began, bowing.

He looked up at me and sighed. "Emma, how many times have I told you not to call me that. You don't have to call me father if it makes you uncomfortable, but at least just call me David." He gave me a false scolding look, which made me smile. I liked getting to see this joking, fatherly side of the king, even if I didn't truly consider him my own father. "Now what did you need?" He asked.

"Um, there was a foreign boat that came into the southern port this evening. None of the guards were at the guard house, so I dealt with the issue myself. I think you should talk to the man from the boat and figure out what to do with him." I spoke fast because I was afraid that I would be reprimanded for performing more guard actions than simply watching over an area.

"Well, are you okay?" King David asked, standing up from his large chair. "Was this boat a threat?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but I really didn't know what to answer. "There was only one man on the boat. He did threaten my life with a knife, but I dealt with the problem. I'm okay now."

He looked like he was going to be angry with me for risking my life, but then he sighed and rubbed his temple. "Alright, I guess we should deal with this now before the party ends and we have to deal with people leaving and exploring the castle like we know they always do before they leave." He gave me a knowing look, because we both knew how our party guests always tried to hide in the castle to stay longer than welcome. "Where is the invader?"

I was about to say that he was in the dungeon, but I remembered that I wasn't supposed to put people in the dungeon without permission, so I just replied quickly, "I'll go get him."

"Why don't you inform Serena while you're on your way out? She should watch how I handle this, since she'll have to do it herself soon enough."

I nodded and made my way through the crowd of people toward the door. I spotted Serena in the midst of all the guests and walked over to her.

"Your father wants you," I whispered into her ear as she was dancing with one of the guards who was being commended at the feast. "You should probably go talk to him."

She looked like she was going to say something to me, but I just kept walking toward the door. I really wanted to just get this whole ordeal over so I could go back to my room and sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before I get started, I just wanted to clarify a few things. First of all, when I call this an AU I meant that certain relationships are not the same as the real story. I wanted Emma to be the adopted daughter of a king, so I apologize if it upsets anyone that I made that king David. I suppose I could've had king Midas be the king or something, but I didn't. Oh well. Secondly, in this story, Emma and Neal are just friends. I think there are some moments where it seems like there may be something more, but there isn't. If you're looking for a story about the two of them, this is not it, this is Killian and Emma. Sorry, I don't mean to be bitter, I just really like this story and I really want other people to as well.

I could hear Neal and the other boy talking about something as I turned the corner. As soon as I did, I felt both pairs of eyes gazing at me. It was then that I remembered that I hadn't been wearing a dress when I came down earlier, and probably hadn't even looked much like a girl. Of course, Neal had seen me in a dress before, but he always seemed amazed when he did, as if every time was the first.

"Um, it's time for you to see the king..." I hesitated, because I still didn't know his name.

"Killian," he said as Neal unlocked his cell. "You can call me Killian."

I made a small smile at the new knowledge and let him walk past me up the stairs. I still didn't trust him. I gave one last nod and smile to Neal before climbing the stairs myself. I led Killian over to the throne room where I knew King David would be waiting. When we reached the throne room, I walked up to the side of the throne where I normally stood. The king would sit in the throne, and Serena and I would stand on either side of him.

I looked at Killian from my new position, and I realized it was the first time I'd really gotten a good look at him. Before, I had seen him outside in the dark, and then in the dungeon there was minimal lighting, so this was the first time I could actually see him. He was a lot more attractive than I would've thought. Stop thinking like that! I told myself. He tried to kill you! He's the enemy!

King David cleared his throat to signify that he was beginning. "Emma tells me you traveled here alone by boat. Is that correct, Mr. ..." he paused to hear Killian say his name.

"Jones, Your Majesty," Killian answered. "And I did arrive here on my own, but I left with my brother. He didn't make the full journey.

I felt sorry for him for about two seconds. Then I remembered how much I hated him. I wouldn't be so stupid as to feel sympathy toward this person who tried to kill me. I shifted my eyes over to see how David and Serena were taking the news. David looked like he was considering the information carefully, and Serena had her flirting eyes on. I guess she had noticed how attractive Killian was the same as I had. I rolled my eyes. Serena had every boy in the kingdom wrapped around her fingers. She could have any one of them she wanted, and she did. She'd dated almost every boy of noble birth at least once or twice. I had decided to wait for just the right man, or just not worry about it at all. I didn't need a man to complete me.

"And is it true that you threatened my daughter Emma?" King David continued, resuming his kingly attitude.

Killian hesitated, and risked a glance at me. I glared at him. I knew David was going to be on my side in this, and not let this guy live.

"Yeah, I did, but I wasn't really going to hurt her. I was just doing it out of self defense." Yeah right. He totally did not do it out of defense. Nevertheless, nobody usually talked to David like that. They just answered him and nothing more. I was a little surprised that Killian had the guts to defend himself like that, but I knew that David would be even more frustrated with him because of it. I looked over to King David and saw that he was frowning. I smirked, knowing Killian was done for.

Serena leaned over and whispered in her father's ear. He sighed and looked at Killian.

"All right," he announced. "You will be forgiven, for the time being. But you will be on a sort of probation. You will stay in my palace for now, and have your own room and be treated as an honored guest, but if there are any more problems, or any complaints from the staff about you, you will be sent to the dungeon. Serena, Emma, why don't you lead Mr. Jones to one of the free rooms in Emma's hall."

"What?" I yelled. "You're putting him in my hall? Nobody stays in my hall!"

David sighed. "The guest hall is full," he explained.

"What about in your hall? That's where you always put the excess guests!"

"First of all, I don't necessarily want him to be so close to the other guests, and secondly," he lowered his voice, "I don't know if I trust him and Serena to sleep in rooms so close to each other." I looked over to where Serena and Killian now stood, talking together. Serena giggled in her normal flirty way.

I sighed. "Fine." I walked over to Serena and Killian and told them to get moving.

Serena led the three of us up the stairs to my hall. She stopped in front of one door and opened it.

"You'll be staying here," she told Killian, motioning to the room. "And if there's anything you need, all you need to do is find me!" Serena smiled at him.

Killian smiled at her. Nobody could resist Serena's smile. It was mesmerizing, and I noticed the struggle he had to look away, but he did, and shut the door.

Serena smiled and sighed as she started to walk over to her own room. "Isn't he dreamy?" She asked.

"Did you whisper to your father to pardon him?" I asked, worrying more about the important things than how dreamy Killian was. She didn't even know his first name.

"Yeah, and it's such a good thing I did. What a waste of a pretty face it would've been if he'd been put in the dungeon, don't you think?" She smiled and started dancing around the hallway.

"You didn't even worry for a second that he could be dangerous?" I asked. "He did try to kill me earlier today."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," she breathed wistfully. "I think tomorrow I'll give him a tour of the town. Then we can have some bonding time." She giggled. So she was just going to make him another one of her conquests. What a surprise.

The next morning, I went down to eat breakfast in the main dining hall and was surprised to find Serena and Killian already eating and talking and laughing.

"Emma! Why don't you join us?" Serena called.

I rolled my eyes. This was the only place we ever ate breakfast, so why wouldn't I join them? I didn't really have a choice unless I wanted to eat in the kitchen. I sat down next to Serena across from Killian.

"Killian was just telling me all about his travels. He used to be a lieutenant in the Royal Navy of his kingdom, but he and his brother left to travel on their own. He's been to so many lands!" Serena explained to me, but not looking away from Killian. "Oh! That reminds me! Killian, do you want a tour of the town today? I could show you all the most romantic spots our kingdom has to offer."

It took everything I had not to laugh out loud. Serena certainly wasn't subtle when she wanted someone. I looked over to Killian to see if he was buying it. His expression was nice, but I could tell that he was just being polite, that he wasn't really interested in Serena romantically.

"Are you going, too, Emma?" Killian asked, looking over to me.

I made a disgusted look on my face. "Why would I want to go hang out with you? You tried to kill me, remember?"

Killian laughed. "You're still holding on to that? Come on, that was, like, a whole day ago!"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a banana from the table, standing up. "I'll see you guys later," I said, turning around and walking away. I had this feeling that Killian was watching as I walked away from the table.

I went back up to my bedroom and finished my banana. I grabbed my leather jacket and boots and headed down to the dungeon to see if Neal was busy.

"Hey Neal!" I yelled. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey Emma. What are you doing down here?"

"Let's go do something today, I need to get out of this castle for a little while."

He smirked. We hadn't gone and done anything fun together for years, we'd both been busy with palace life so much. "What did you have in mind?"

I held up my bow in answer, hoping the two of us could go hunting like we had done when we were kids. Of course, we were much better now.

He smiled for a minute, then looked around and frowned. "You know I'm not supposed to leave my post, Emma."

I sighed. "We don't have to be gone that long, nobody will know you left. Nobody comes down here anyway."

He glared at me, knowing I had won this argument. Then he smiled. "Fine, let me go grab my jacket and bow."

After we had gotten everything we needed, we ran out of the main palace gates and all the way to the woods that were only about a five minute run away.


	4. Chapter 4

I was having an amazing hunting day. I thought that I'd be worse since I hadn't used my bow on any moving targets for a while, but after only an hour I had already caught three rabbits and even a crow-but the crow had had a broken wing, so it didn't really count. Neal had caught only one rabbit-he had never been as good as me when it came to archery.

"Sheesh, Emma," Neal panted. "Slow down a bit, at least give me a fighting chance!"

I smiled mockingly. "In your dreams, jail boy!"

Suddenly I heard soft voices to my left. I ducked behind a tree and looked to see who it was. I saw Serena and Killian walking close to each other. Killian had his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets and Serena was holding on to one of his arms like it was the most precious thing in the world to her.

"What are you doing?" Neal asked.

"Shhh!" I whispered, pulling him behind the tree with me. "If they see me I could get in huge trouble. I'm not supposed to be hunting out here anymore, and you're supposed to be guarding the jail."

We hid behind the tree and hoped that Serena and Killian would leave soon.

They didn't leave quite as soon as I would've wanted. They sat down on a patch of grass and started talking about who knows what. They were close enough to me that I knew that if I tried to leave, they would see me, but they were not close enough for me to hear what they were saying. I sighed, afraid that I was going to be stuck there for a while.

After a few minutes, however, I heard a faint thumping sound in the distance. I looked over in the direction of the sound and saw a huge brown bear hurtling toward Killian and Serena. The world seemed to move in slow motion as I ran around the tree and yelled for Killian and Serena to get out of the way. They looked at me dazedly for the smallest second before they noticed the bear and ran out of its path in separate directions.

I grabbed an arrow and pulled the string of my bow. I aimed at my target and let the arrow fly. I quickly fired a second and a third arrow, just to be thorough. After the third arrow, the bear began stumbling, tripping over its own feet. It was still heading toward Killian, who seemed frozen in place.

I ran over to Killian and pushed him out of the way of the bear, which stumbled past where Killian had just been standing and then finally collapsed. I breathed a sigh of relief that the bear was no longer a threat.

It was then that I noticed that I had fallen on top of Killian, and I was suddenly very aware of every place our bodies touched. I looked into his crystal blue eyes and found them full of surprise and wonder.

"So you really can shoot that thing," he smiled. "I thought you might have just been bluffing.

I glared at him. "You really had no faith in me, did you?"

At that moment Serena cleared her throat. Apparently she had walked over to us from wherever she had run to. "Excuse me! Emma! What are you doing out here? You know you're not supposed to be out in the woods alone! And get off of Killian!" She scolded.

I crawled off of Killian, apologizing to him for knocking him over. I scratched the back of my neck nervously. "Actually, I'm not out here alone. Neal, you can come out now," I called over to the tree I knew Neal had hid behind.

He walked out nervously and waved to Serena, knowing he would be in big trouble for ditching his jail post.

"Father is going to be so upset with the two of you! When he finds out you were out hunting again!" Serena said, obviously enjoying showing off to Killian just how powerful and influential she was in the kingdom.

"Well, it's a good thing they were out here," Killian started, "because if they hadn't we'd probably be dead, Serena." I noticed that even though he was talking to Serena, he seemed to be watching me intently the whole time.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't need you to defend me," I glared at Killian. I still didn't trust him nor did I like how he seemed to just be in every aspect of my life now: first my hall of the castle, now my hunting time.

Killian raised his hands as a show of peace. "Sorry, love, didn't mean to offend you."

I shook my head, not wanting to fight him anymore. I just wanted to get home. "Come on, Neal. Let's go." I turned around and started walking back to the castle. I heard Neal's footsteps as he walked behind me, but he said nothing, and neither did I.

When we arrived back at the palace, Neal went straight back to his post in the dungeon so as to avoid as much punishment as he could. I suppose I should've gone to King David and told him what happened so I myself wouldn't get in trouble, but I really didn't care. Serena could just go and make up some awful story about how disobedient and reckless I was. She always did.

I just wanted to go straight to my room and forget about the strikingly beautiful shade of blue that Killian's eyes were. I wanted to rid my body of the feeling of him pressed under me. I wanted to forget the incredulity in his voice when he saw me take down the huge bear on my own.

I didn't have the courage to face everyone at supper, so I just snacked on the small amount of nonperishable food I always kept in my room. I enjoyed the solitude for a while, but after an hour or so, I heard voices outside my door. I walked over to the door and pressed my ear against it. I could hear Serena and Killian's voices, but couldn't decipher what exactly they were saying. After a minute, the voices died down and I heard footsteps, probably Serena's, walking away.

I opened my door and peeked out. To my right, just a few doors down stood Killian, leaning against the door to his room. He was staring toward Serena, but not with a face of longing, but one of curiosity. "Hey," I said, causing him to jump briefly out of surprise. He turned to face me.

"Hi," he replied.

I looked down at the floor, not really sure what I wanted to say. "Umm, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

He smiled, seemingly amused at my nervousness. "You have no need to apologize, Emma. You are independent and don't like to rely on others. I admire that."

"Thanks." I hadn't looked up from the ground, but I did then and saw him watching me. I didn't know what that look even meant. No one had ever looked at me the way he did. I looked back at the floor. "I should go now. Umm, good night." I turned around quickly and closed my door behind me, but not before I heard Killian reply, almost in a whisper, "Good night, Emma."


	5. Chapter 5

I sat up abruptly in bed, gasping. I had just had a terrible dream. It was one of my recurring nightmares of drowning. I don't know why I always have nightmares about that, but I get them a lot. Actually that's a lie, I do know why I usually have those dreams. Drowning is really the only thing I'm afraid of. I've reasoned out that the only real thing to be scared of is death, and the only real way of dying that I'm truly afraid of is drowning. I can't really say that my fear is of dying because it's not. It's how I die. For example, I'm not scared of dying from a sword because I know that I can fight back and protect myself from it. My parents died from drowning, though, so I've always had this conscious awareness that I am always so close to the ocean and to the depths that swallowed my family.

Anyway, I woke up after dreaming that I fell out of a boat that was leaving the island. I sat up in bed and calmed myself down for a minute. I realized I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep right away, so I went downstairs to get a late night snack from the kitchen.

I got myself a glass of water and sat on the counter to think to myself for a little bit before I went back upstairs. Suddenly I heard footsteps on the other side of the kitchen door. I set down my glass and prepared myself to fight if necessary.

The door opened slowly, almost eerily. I looked up at the person walking in, and was surprised to find that it was Killian.

He looked equally as surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

I crossed my arms and frowned. "I live here," I replied snarkily.

Killian raised his eyebrows questioningly. He knew that I knew that wasn't what he meant.

I dropped my arms and looked at my feet. "I couldn't sleep," I said quietly.

Killian took a step closer to me. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked slowly.

I turned around to face the counter. I shook my head quickly and grabbed my glass to put it in the sink. I paused for a moment.

"What is it?" Killian asked. He must have noticed that I had stopped moving.

"There's a spider in there," I answered so quietly I was surprised he heard me.

Killian walked over to stand next to me. He reached over and lifted the faucet to let water fall into the sink. The spider was carried by the water down the drain to its death.

I took a step away from the sink. I felt a sudden chill and felt my stomach clench, fear boiling inside me. I didn't really feel remorse for the spider, but the harsh reality of drowning overcame me again.

Killian suddenly realized that I wasn't standing next to him anymore. He turned around and probably saw the tears beginning to form in my eyes. "Whoa, are you okay?"

I shook my head, memories of my dream flooding back into my mind.

Killian walked over to me and reached his hand out to wipe a tear from my cheek. "Emma," he whispered, full of pity.

The tears streamed down my face. I turned around and ran out of the kitchen, not looking back at Killian.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma wait!" I heard Killian call behind me. Apparently he had followed me out of the kitchen. Was he trying to torture me even more?

"Just leave me alone!" I yelled back at him.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong! Was it something I said?" He sounded so genuinely concerned for me. I hated it. I hate feeling pitied. I had to be able to prove to everyone that I wasn't fragile. I wouldn't become some boring princess thinking about balls and dresses all the time. I wanted to be the hero of my own life story.

I took a deep breath and turned to face him. "Just do me a favor and pretend this whole situation never happened. Don't pity me." And with that I just walked away. I felt Killian's eyes watching me leave, but he said nothing, which was exactly what I wanted. Or at least what I thought I wanted.

The next morning I woke up early and went straight down to breakfast. I really wanted to get out of there quickly before anyone else showed up, but of course luck wouldn't have it my way. One of the servants told me that David had an announcement for Serena and I that I had to stay for.

And also following my luck, the next person to come down to breakfast was Killian. I don't even know why he ate with us. There was a perfectly good other kitchen at the other end of the castle for the guests. But of course I knew the answer: David wanted to keep a close eye on him at all times. He still believed Killian could be a spy or something.

Anyway, Killian came in and sat down across from me. I could tell from the way he was watching me that he wanted to talk about last night, but was waiting for me to mention it first. I grabbed an apple and bit into it, not wanting to talk to him at all. We sat in silence for five minutes before Serena arrived at the table.

She sat down next to Killian and grabbed a slice of toast. "So Killian, what do you want to do today?" She asked him, blatantly ignoring my existence. She never really had accepted me as a sister. I mean, we played together a little when we were younger, but I could never live up to her standards. And as we got older, we kind of just grew apart. She became more and more into dresses and girly things, and I wanted to go out and hunt and fight with the boys. But I wasn't bitter about it. We could be different.

"Umm, your dad wants us to stay here for a little bit so he can announce something," I told her.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Oh please. I already know what it's about. It's such old news." She waved her hand as though I were foolish for thinking that she didn't know what the announcement was about.

At that moment, King David entered the room. He always had a regal air about him, even when he was doing ordinary tasks such as walking into a kitchen to see his two daughters (and one guest). I looked up at him somewhat tiredly, hoping his announcement wouldn't take too long. Serena smiled up at her father adoringly, obviously extremely excited about whatever he was about to say.

"Serena, Emma," he began. "And Killian," he added quickly. He made a face as though it almost pained him to say Killian's name. "I have an important announcement to make." Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get on with it. You have "important announcements" like every other week. I thought, but didn't say aloud. "We are going to have a ball in the palace. In three days!"

"Didn't we just have a ball?" I asked. Normally there were at least a few weeks between balls. It was strange to have two so close together. "What's the special occasion?"

Serena glared at me open-mouthed as though I'd just said the most hurtful and offensive thing possible to her. "What's the special occasion? It's my birthday, you witch!"

Now was my turn to look at her like she was crazy. "Your birthday's not for another month! Why are we having a party now?"

Serena rolled her eyes again and looked to her father to explain. The king looked back to me. "At the time of Serena's actual birthday, she will be busy hosting all the suitors who will be coming to win her hand in marriage. Because she is turning eighteen, she must be married soon."

"I turned eighteen last month. Why didn't you make a big deal about me?" I asked, even though I kind of knew the answer already.

"Well, you are not the heir to the throne, so you need not worry about marriage. However, I was hoping that while the suitors are here for Serena, you might… find someone," he explained.

I really didn't want to be tied down into a marriage, especially not a more or less arranged marriage.

"We'll see what happens," David said vaguely, and I kind of got the feeling that he really wanted me to find some noble from some faraway land to take me away from this place. I knew David did at some level love me like a daughter, but I don't think he wanted me living with him forever.

David left and I slouched down in my seat. Great. Now I had to worry about a ball, that I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of, and a marriage to some stranger. I had a momentary existential crisis: I felt my life as it was slowly coming to an end. Soon everything would change.

Serena left the table next, grabbing Killian's arm and dragging him with her, saying that she wanted him to go with her to pick out her dress for the party. He looked back at me with a silent plea for help, but I was still annoyed with him, so I just stuck my tongue out mockingly. He glared at me, then smiled, then was out of the room, leaving me all alone.

I wanted to go down to the dungeon to hang out with Neal, but I didn't want to get him in any more trouble. I wanted to go out to the archer range to blow some steam, but I felt that I might get in trouble doing even that. David hadn't mentioned anything this morning about the bear incident, but I figured that he was just too busy thinking about Serena's party. Anyways, I didn't want to take any chances.

Instead of doing anything more adventurous or exciting, I just went back to my room to find a nice book to read. After a few hours of getting lost in someone else's world, I dozed off and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

I was surrounded by water on all sides of me. I was completely submerged in it. I looked around, but could see no land anywhere in the distance. Just water that seemed to go on forever. I felt my lungs beginning to burn. I would need to take a breath soon, but I seemed to be fine for the moment.

I looked up and saw a distorted view of Killian looking down at me. I waved my arms to try to reach the surface, but I couldn't move. My leg was caught by some seaweed. I opened my mouth and tried to scream, but no sound escaped my lips. The pressure in my lungs was increasing exponentially as water flooded into my mouth.

I woke up and realized I actually had been screaming in real life. I stopped screaming, but I couldn't get my heart to stop racing. I heard a pounding, and I thought at first it was my heart but soon realized someone was knocking on my door. Barely aware of my surroundings, I saw out of the corner of my eye the door burst open, and Killian rushing through. He looked worried. I sat up in my bed and hugged my knees to my chest.

"I heard you screaming," Killian said. He was breathing heavily; he must have run all the way from his room. "What happened?"

I shrugged. My voice was almost silent when I answered, "it was just a bad dream. I'm fine."

Killian almost laughed. "You most certainly are not fine!" He walked over to the small couch next to my bed. He sat down and leaned forward, squinting his eyes at me for a moment before relaxing slightly. "What was your nightmare about?"

"Same as it always is," I whispered.

"Which is..." he prompted.

I pulled my knees closer in to my chest and sighed.

"I'm absolutely terrified of drowning." I paused, figuring that if I started talking about it, I might not be able to stop. I took a deep breath and continued. "My parents died out at sea when I was five. Ever since then I've had nightmares of it. I've never been able to go on a boat since. Which is kind of frustrating when you live on an island."

I looked over to see how Killian was reacting to my story. He was staring at me as though he had never seen me before.

"So after your parents... you know... the king took you in as a daughter." I nodded. Killian smiled. "So is that why you don't really like all the parties and dresses?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess." I took another deep breath and realized that my heart had gone back almost to normal. But I still didn't think that I would be able to sleep very well.

Killian looked like he was still trying to work something out in his mind. "So the other night in the kitchen, what scared you? We weren't near any deep water."

My body shuddered involuntarily. My mind began thinking of that night, of when I'd seen a harmless little spider washed down to its death in the pipe system. I opened my mouth, about to explain to Killian, but the words wouldn't come out.

Killian noticed my hesitation and sat next to me on my bed. He put his arm around my shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, you don't have to explain right now. Just forget about it."

I rested my head against Killian. I suddenly felt safer than I'd ever felt before, even after the king had brought me into his home off the streets.

I felt tired, like I wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. I felt myself drifting off into a deep sleep, but I was no longer worried about having another nightmare. I felt safe and free in Killian's arms.

When I fell asleep, I was underwater again in the same situation as before. But this time my leg was not caught in seaweed. I swam to the surface to a smiling Killian. He pulled me into his boat and into his arms. In the dream, I wasn't afraid of the water, which was an odd feeling for me. The two of us sailed off towards the sunset, to a new land promising a new life and adventure.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up feeling more relaxed and calm than I had in ages. At first I almost forgot the reason why, but it was kind of hard to forget when Killian was still lying under me, still fast asleep. For a second I panicked. What did it even mean? I had just slept most of the night with… a man! And a man that Serena was still interested in, too! I got out of my bed as quietly as I could, changed into my hunting gear, and went down to the archery range.

I always felt calmer when I was able to just fire my arrows at a target with all my strength. It helped me to let out any anger I was feeling at the time. Sometimes I would picture the target as a certain person, imagining I was skewering them a million times to let out any anger I felt toward them without actually hurting the person. This time I was just letting out all my frustration about Killian. I mean, I really liked him, but what could even come of it? As far as I knew, Serena still had a thing for him, which meant that I had to be the good sister and let her have him. But it also seemed pretty clear to me that he didn't feel the same way about her. But that didn't mean that he felt that way about me. And besides, Serena and I were both supposed to be accepting engagements from rich suitors within the next month, so neither of us would really be allowed to be with Killian for much longer anyway. But then again, I wasn't necessarily expected to get married. I could just leave the castle and get my own little house somewhere else on the island. I could do whatever I wanted, or so I thought.

I started picking up speed firing my arrows. I was hardly even focusing on the archery because my mind was thinking about a million things at once, but I was so good I at least hit the target every time. I got into such a rhythm that I didn't even notice when someone walked up behind me.

"Hey, slow down! What did that target ever do to you?" A familiar voice called from behind me. I instinctively turned around quickly and aimed my bow at the source of the voice. "Whoa, careful there, Emma," Killian said, putting his hands up defensively.

"Don't you know not to sneak up on someone with a bow and arrow?" I asked, somewhat annoyed at being interrupted, especially by him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said, his voice softening a little.

I sighed. "You didn't scare me," I said quietly.

"So are you okay?" He asked. "I mean, about last night and everything?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered. I really just didn't want to talk to him right then. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with Serena or something?"

"Why would I hang out with Serena?"

I gave him a look like he was crazy for questioning that. "Well, that's basically all you've done since you've gotten here! She's been practically drooling over you! Are you telling me that you haven't even noticed?"

Killian looked like he was thinking about that for a minute. "You mean she really seemed into me?" He asked hopefully. I fought the urge to slap him.

"Well, interested in you as a sort of pet! That's all she ever does with guys: strings them along while they do her bidding until she tires of them. And you're her most recent project." I realized that my voice sounded really bitter as I said that. Maybe deep down I was jealous of Serena's ease around guys. Maybe I wished I could be a normal girl sometimes and fall in love like everyone else.

"So you think I'm totally in love with Serena?" Killian asked.

"Isn't everyone?" I looked to the ground and tried to hide the jealousy and bitterness toward Serena that I knew was evident both on my face and in my voice.

"No, not everyone is in love with Serena. I know I'm not." Killian put his hand under my chin so that I was forced to look up at him.

"You're not?"

He shook his head. "It would be a little hard for me to be in love with Serena when I'm in love with someone else.

It took me a moment to realize that that someone else was me. I searched his eyes for some indication that this was all a joke and he was simply messing with me. I found nothing. I shook my head. "This is bad. If Serena thinks you love her and then finds out you don't then she will have you thrown in the dungeon or worse!"

Killian shrugged. "I've been in the dungeon. It's not all that bad."

I took a step back. I couldn't believe he was being so stubborn about this! Didn't he see how much it would kill me to see anything bad happen to him? "She could have you killed! The risks are too great!"

Killian took a step towards me to close the distance between us. "Maybe I think it's worth it."

He started to lean towards me, and I knew that I should try to stop him but I couldn't. I was frozen in place when our lips met. I felt like I was melting into him. My mind completely forgot everything about the consequences, and Serena, and everything else I should've been remembering. The only thing I could think of was the way Killian's body was pressed against mine. The moment was completely perfect until—

"Emma?" I heard a voice call out. I pulled away from Killian (reluctantly) and turned to see who had said my name. My eyes opened in shock. It was Serena.

Serena turned around and started walking away. She looked mad. I ran after her, completely forgetting to say goodbye or anything else to Killian.

"Serena, wait!" I called after her.

She turned around. "What do you think you are doing?" She asked angrily.

"I'm so sorry Serena, I know you liked him. I don't know what happened, it all just happened so fast!"

"You know what? It doesn't even matter. You can have him. It's not like you'll have him that long anyway." She turned around and started to walk away again. I caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder to get her to turn around.

"What do you mean I won't be with him that long?" I asked, worried that she already had plans for his execution or something.

"Father said that by the end of the month both of us will be engaged to suitors from other kingdoms. There's no way Father would give you off to some random stranger with no money, no family, and no home!"

She walked away again, and this time I didn't go after her. I couldn't believe it. I really was going to be sent away to some far off land with some random person I didn't even know. I could count my days left of freedom.

The next two days passed by in somewhat of a blur. I did my best to avoid everyone, especially Killian. At night, there would be incessant knocking on my door. I assumed it was Killian trying to talk to me or comfort me, but I kept the door locked and didn't let anyone in. On the third day of my isolation, I realized I wouldn't be able to hide away anymore. I'd have to face King David, who would soon be forcing me to marry, Serena, who had informed me of my dreary fate, and Killian, who was the first person to tell me he loved me. Not that that mattered. I would have to talk to all of them and be social and be the good little princess that I'm not because it was the day of the ball.


	9. Chapter 9

I got dressed in a red gown and put my hair up nicely. I walked slowly down toward the ballroom, trying to take up as much time before going in as I could. I took a deep breath and pushed open the large door to the room.

Luckily for me, the party was already in full swing. People were dancing, mingling, drinking, doing everything but paying attention to me. Which is exactly what I wanted. I made my way through the room, nodding and smiling at guests and nobles as I passed them. There were a few familiar faces, people who were either staying in the castle for the time being or simply come to the palace often for balls and meetings with the king. I didn't really make it my business to learn everyone's names; that was for David and Serena to worry about.

I spotted Serena in the middle of a large crowd and she made eye contact with me. She gave me a sad smile as though she knew what I'd been thinking about the past few days. She probably understood how hard it was for me to finally have to act like a princess and be forced into a marriage, when I'd spent most of my life relatively free from princess duties.

I looked around and found King David talking to some nobles. The men he was talking to occasionally looked over at Serena, and less frequently at me, so I had a strange sense that they were suitors talking about marriage. I felt like I couldn't breathe. The last thing I needed tonight was to have to think so seriously about the marriage yet. I knew that this was one of my last few days of freedom, but I figured I would at least have this night to just not have to think about it.

I went out into the garden, needing to get some air. I realized I had started breathing deeply, as though I had just been running through the woods. I walked over to a small river that trickles through our garden and stood on the bridge that looks out toward the beautiful forest. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down when I noticed how tightly I was gripping the railing of the bridge. I tried to take deep breaths and force myself to think about the forest, the garden, anything but what was going on in the ballroom.

I heard a small laugh behind me. "Don't tell me you're afraid of this little river, too?" A voice said. I turned around and glared at Killian. Then I turned back around and looked out over the river, my breathing finally returning to normal. "Wait, are you afraid of the river? Because I didn't mean to offend you," he said, walking over to stand next to me. He leaned on the railing of the bridge but faced me as he talked.

"I'm not afraid of the river," I answered quietly. "There's no way to drown in that thing." The river was only about a foot deep. I don't know if you could really even call it a river, it was so tiny, but that's just what I called it. It was pretty, though.

"Then what's wrong?" Killian asked.

I shook my head. I really didn't want to talk about it, least of all to him.

Killian reached up and wiped a stray hair out of my face. "Emma, please talk to me."

I shook my head again and turned away from him. "I can't," I answered. I started walking away from him.

I heard his footsteps racing to catch up to me. "Emma, wait!" He grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. Then, before I could protest, he pulled my face closer to him and kissed me.

I pulled away from him and felt tears rolling down my face. "You shouldn't have done that," I told him.

"Why not? I love you, Emma. And I know you feel the same about me." He started to raise his voice and I couldn't blame him. This whole thing was making me mad, too.

I took in a deep breath and finally found the courage to tell him. "King David is going to marry me off to some random suitor, probably whoever offers him the most money. It'll be arranged by the end of this month." I looked up at Killian as I finished telling him. He was staring at me as if I was a completely different person.

"Is that why you stayed in your room for the past two days?" Was all he asked.

I nodded. "I didn't know how to tell you."

He looked toward the forest for a moment, as though he were deep in thought. He was silent for about a minute before he turned back to me. "And what do you think about being married off to some stranger? Do you want to?"

I looked at him like he was crazy. "No, of course I don't want to, I want to be with you! But what choice do I have? King David took me in as his daughter, and now I have to do whatever he says as long as I live in his kingdom!"

Killian smirked as though he knew some secret. It was kind of scaring me.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"You just said you had to do whatever he said as long as you were in his kingdom, right?" I nodded. "Well, what if you weren't in his kingdom?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if we left? Hopped in a boat and got as far away from here as possible!"

My eyes widened in shock. I couldn't believe what he was suggesting. Just leave? Be free of this place that had been my home my entire life? I mean, sure I'd miss it. But it was worth it. Then I sighed. There was no way I was going to leave this place because I couldn't step foot in a boat.

"What about my fear of water?" I asked Killian.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. You'll be perfectly safe."

I wasn't sure I felt totally comfortable with that, but I figured I would just have to trust him. I looked up at him and smiled. "Alright, you have a deal. So when do we leave?"

"Well, it'll take a bit of time to get a boat prepared and everything. I'd say it will take about two weeks."

I sighed. "That's really close to when the suitors will start arriving," I said. "We'll have to be quick about things. And we can't let Serena or King David know. If they find out, they'll never let me leave!"

Killian smiled and picked me up at the waist, swinging me around in a circle. "Well, then I guess it'll be our little secret." This time when he pulled me in for a kiss, I didn't pull away.


	10. Chapter 10

The next few days were hard. Killian and I had to make sure nobody found out that we were planning on leaving. Every day Killian would go out to the docks to try to barter for a boat for us, but he had to be careful that none of the sailors found out that I would be a passenger on the boat or they would tell the king. I spent most of my time at the archery range where I knew Serena never went. I didn't want to face her. It wasn't so much that I didn't want her to find out, it's that I was afraid that if I saw her too much, and started thinking of how she would feel about it, that I would back out and decide to stay. I really didn't want to hurt Serena or David, they were the closest to family I had, but I felt that this was what I needed to do for myself. If I stayed, I would only be living in Serena's shadow, or worse, married off to some foreign kingdom with no free will of my own.

One of the nights I had another nightmare, but not about drowning. I was scared of leaving the island and leaving Serena and David. I felt guilty for just leaving them behind. I woke up not screaming, but sobbing. Killian came in to comfort me and I was able to go back to sleep. I really hoped we would be able to leave soon so I could just forget everything.

About a week after I started to avoid Serena, I was out in the archery range. All of a sudden I heard footsteps behind me. I lowered my bow and turned around, thinking that Killian had come back to the castle early to surprise me. I was definitely surprised, but not by Killian.

"You've been avoiding me," Serena stated. I stared at her, not sure how to answer. I nodded slowly. "I just want to know why. Are you mad at me that you are being forced to marry? Because that is not my fault, and you know it."

I shook my head. "It's not that. I mean, it sort of has to do with that, but I'm not mad at you at all."

"Well that's good, I guess." I could tell Serena was still waiting for an answer of why I had avoided her.

"I can't tell you, Serena," I said, really wishing I could tell her.

"Why not? We never used to keep secrets from each other. What's changed?" She looked at me with big sad eyes, and it took all my willpower not to break down and cry with her.

"I just can't tell you. Can't you trust me on this? Please?"

Serena looked like I'd slapped her or something, which only made me want to slap myself. I didn't know how long I would be able to keep it in before I just blurted it out to her.

"Is this about Killian? Because you know I'm totally cool with you two being together and all. I was just warning you that you won't have that much more time before you have to get married to someone else."

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. "Killian and I are running away!" I yelled, not even caring who heard me anymore.

"What?" Serena asked. Obviously that was just about the last thing she expected to hear. "What do you mean you're running away? We live on an island, where are you going to go?"

I sighed, realizing the secret was out. I still wasn't sure whether or not I felt better yet. "We're getting a boat. Killian is down by the docks arranging it as we speak. We're going to sail it across the ocean to who knows where. We'll find a new life for ourselves."

Serena looked more hurt now than ever. "You're just going to leave? Leave the kingdom, your home? Leave me?"

I looked down and tried to hold back tears. "I didn't want you to find out until I was already gone. I was going to leave a note for you to find. I'm really sorry."

"Why are you doing this, though?" She asked, taking in a deep breath. She would obviously need some time to think about this, but it seemed that she might actually end up understanding and supporting me.

"I have to leave, Serena. This life isn't me. I'm not a real princess, and I've never acted like one. Any suitor is going to expect a perfect princess with perfect manners. I'll never get any respect. Killian does respect me. I don't want to be tied down to a man I don't love."

"You don't have to leave. You can stay here, and choose to not marry. That's what you always said you wanted. You can stay here and live in the palace with me!"

I sighed again. I hated this feeling of guilt that I was leaving Serena, my sister, my best friend. "I don't want to live in your shadow my whole life. I'm tired of being the 'other princess', the one people don't really care about. You're the one everyone comes to see, you're the one who will ascend to the throne. I don't want any of that; I just want to live a normal life. And I won't be able to do that if I just stay here."

Serena sighed and I could tell that she was beginning to understand, though she probably didn't like it. "When do you leave?" She asked.

"Killian's been working on getting us a boat. We'll probably leave as soon as the suitors start to arrive. I don't want to be around too long while they think I'm available."

Serena nodded. "I may be able to pull some strings and get you a good deal on a boat. And I assume you don't want me to tell Father about this?"

"Yeah, I don't want him finding out. And thank you. For everything."

Serena smiled sadly. "What are sisters for?" She opened her arms and I hugged her, something I hadn't done in years. I really would miss her.


	11. Chapter 11

The first suitors arrived a week before I had expected them to. I began to worry that Killian and I wouldn't be able to get away in time. He still hadn't been able to find a sailor who would sell us a boat for a reasonable price without telling the king.

There was a knock on the door of my bedroom, where I had been nervously pacing all morning.

Serena walked in. "Emma, my father needs to talk to us. It's about the suitors." Her voice was quiet and sad, like she knew how tough this was for me. She understood my desperation to get off the island as soon as possible.

I sat down on my bed and buried my head in my hands. "I don't know how I'm going to get through this, Serena. If Killian doesn't get a boat soon, David will arrange a marriage for me and it'll be too late."

Serena came over to the bed and put an arm around me comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I know how hard this is for you. But if you don't come downstairs and meet the suitors, my father will begin to get suspicious."

"How am I going to pretend that everything is normal, though?" I looked at her, praying for a miracle.

She searched my eyes to try to figure out just how desperate I was. Finally she sighed. "I'll tell my father that you're sick. Then I'll go down to the docks myself and find a boat for you. Will that get you to stop crying?" She laughed so that I would know that she wasn't mad at me.

I glared at her jokingly. "I wasn't crying. But yes, that would make you the best sister ever!" I jumped up and hugged her.

Serena came back into my room a few hours later with the biggest smile on her face. She looked happier than I had seen her in a long time, which made me curious as to why.

"What happened, Serena?" I asked her.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it, Emma! I went down to meet the suitor and he is the most amazing guy ever! He is so cute, but even more than that, he's sweet and kind and funny and…"

"Whoa, slow down there. You do remember that he's only the first of many suitors. You shouldn't just go and choose one before you've even met the others!" I tried to sound scolding but Serena seemed so excited and I was so happy for her that I couldn't help but smile.

"I don't even need to see any other suitors, Josh is totally the one for me!"

I smiled, happy that Serena would at least have someone once I was gone. I remembered then that Serena had another thing she was supposed to have done. "Did you go down to the docks like you said you would?" I asked her.

"Oh, yeah, Josh and I went down together and we talked to a guy who asked for quite a considerable amount of money, I might add, but he agreed to sell me a boat and I arranged it all for you! You can leave as soon as tomorrow night!"

I was happy for a second, but there was one thing that caught my attention. "Wait, you went down there with Josh? Serena, this was supposed to be a secret! How do you know he won't just go tell your father?"

Serena looked hurt, and I immediately felt bad. "I trust him, Emma. I know I just met him today, but there's something about him that makes me feel like I can tell him anything. You of all people should understand that, the way you and Killian are together."

I sighed and nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm going to go find Killian and let him know that we can leave tomorrow." I stood up, about to just leave, when I turned around and added, "And Serena? I really am happy that you found someone. And thank you so much for finding a boat." I went over to her and hugged her again. I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, but I figured that I only had a day left to spend with my sister, I should be hugging her as much as possible.

At sunset the next day, Killian and I boarded our boat that Serena had arranged for us. Killian, as I found out, had been trained as a lieutenant in the navy of his past kingdom, so he was able to sail the ship almost completely on his own, with only a little help from me.

Serena and Josh came to say goodbye to us as well. I looked back toward the kingdom that I would soon be leaving. I didn't want to say goodbye to it, but I also didn't want it to become my prison. I wanted to be free. I looked over toward where Serena and Josh stood on the docks and waved to them. Serena waved back at me and smiled sadly. I could tell this was hard for her. Then Josh put his arm around her and she looked up at him adoringly. I knew she would be fine without me.

Killian walked over to where I stood at the edge of the ship. "Are you ready to go?" He asked.

I turned around and looked out at the ocean. I saw the depths of the water that I had always been afraid of. I expected to feel the usual butterflies in my stomach that I always got when I thought of the ocean, but I didn't feel it. I simply wasn't afraid anymore. And I trusted that Killian would be able to successfully navigate us across the water to discover some new land, some new kingdom where we could start a new life together.

I nodded to Killian to let him know that I was ready to leave. I turned back one last time to wave to Serena for the last time. I would really miss her, and I knew she would really miss me, but we both had new lives that were just beginning, lives that didn't necessarily require a sister. We were both off to better places.

Killian got the ship moving and we were off to who knows where. We sailed toward the sunset and I remembered that all this had started on a night much like that night, where a boat sailed toward the kingdom from the sunset, starting this whole new adventure, this whole new life for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely cannot say that that was how I planned on the story ending when I first started writing it. I want to point out that I know nothing of ships or boats, so when I was talking about Killian sailing it on his own, I have no idea if that is actually possible, so I'm sorry if that was hard to believe. Also I feel like this story should have gone to a more romantic ending but Killian was barely even in the last few chapters, so I apologize for that, too. Now that I'm done apologizing for all my mistakes, I just want to thank everyone for reading this far. I am so grateful for every single review I received (and I wouldn't complain to getting any more reviews *hint hint*). Thank you so much for following with this story, and I love you all! Sorry, I'm done being sappy now, you can all go back to your lives. Bye!


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